Spider attack claims one in Assam

People living in eastern Assam’s Sadiya have seen the run of militants over the years. Now they claim to have been under attack from swarms of venomous spiders. One person died and several others were injured after they were bitten by these spiders.

The spiders, which descend in large numbers after sunset, were first noticed on May 8 during a Bihu celebration at Chaulkhowa Na-Gaon, around 13km from Sadiya. We were enjoying a Bihu cultural show when suddenly hundreds of spiders appeared from nowhere.

Before we could flee, they started biting us, locals told DNA. The Latrodectus elegans, a variety of brown spiders, are found in neighbouring Myanmar, China and Thailand.